A Cottage by the Sea

To my Cottage by the Sea friends

11/22/2022

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that I don’t reveal stories that have been given to me in confidence or that I’ve observed in my daily living. I’m aware that this decision keeps this blog rather boring, because, let’s admit it, we love a good story. But those good, juicy stories give us schadenfreude, which according to the Oxford dictionary is ‘pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.’ Without question, that is not the purpose of this blog. Thirteen years go, in creating A Cottage by the Sea, I wrote:
A blog for those who are looking for silence, solitude and
simplicity, and who sometimes want to be alone.

Over the years I’ve tried to respond to those of you looking for just that. My hope is that what I might say will help you make sense of ways that you, with your personality and circumstances, can live into the silence, solitude, and simplicity that you long for.

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Work on patience

11/18/2022

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We folks who love silence, solitude and simplicity are attached to the same virtues and vices as those who love the hubbub of a busy social life. The fruit of the spirit— love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control— are spread out equally among extraverts and extroverts.
Pick one you’re working on, one that gets in your way of living the kind of life you want. Mine, at the moment, is patience. I want things to work on my time, in my way. Notice the word my. I want it to be all about me; when it isn’t, I’m impatient.

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Reading for silence, solitude and simplicity

11/16/2022

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Can we attain the habit of silence, solitude and simplicity if our practice does not include reading? Well, speaking for myself, it would be mighty difficult without reading.
   I usually have three books going: fiction, history, and something spiritual. Presently I’m reading "Dissolution: A novel of Tudor England," by C.J. Sanson, set during the rise of Oliver Cromwell at the beginning of the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII. "The Pope’s War: The Secret History of Pope Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler," by David I. Kertzer is my history selection. "The Eremitic Life," by Fr. Cornelius Wencel fills the spiritual category.
   Two of the three, Dissolution and The Eremitic Life, satisfy my longing for silence, solitude and simplicity in the context of the monastic life I strive to lead. The Pope’s War, leads me to the streets of Rome and the country I love.
   My longing for silence, solitude, and simplicity is best satisfied by a ‘real” book that I can hold in my hand. Audio books are not silent; e-books are not simple.

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The challenge to keep silent

11/12/2022

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I must admit that the commitment I made a couple of days ago to keep silence has been more of a challenge than I thought it would be. The talk in my mind is reasonably silent, but my out loud talk… when there’s an audience…, it has not been silent! I’ve stepped into the conversation with out realizing it. And, that is my challenge: to realize and be quiet.
And yet, yesterday at breakfast with a group of like-minded friends, no one brought up the election. No rehash. We talked about books, Thanksgiving plans, and friendships. My best self left these friends feeling comforted and safe.

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Silence--no political talk

11/10/2022

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Bruno Goller

Today I’m thinking about silence. Election days are not silent. In the past three days I’ve done a great deal of listening, and a fair amount of talking, both with myself and others—reiterating what I heard on the news, offering my point of view. It didn’t t feel it got out of hand, but I talked.
And then this morning, it came over me, or I might say, I ‘heard’, that it was time for me to take on silence. Silence in my head and silence concerning any commentary that I might throw out in the universe. The world is out of balance; it needs my silence.

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Living with hope on Election Day

11/8/2022

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It’s a beautiful fall day in Massachusetts. My husband and I were in the voting line at 7. It was a short line; we were home by 7:20. For those of us who love silence, solitude and simplicity, it behooves us to lives this election day honoring that space where love resides.
This morning I will walk, write, and read; this afternoon I will sit with a friend in her back yard. We will not talk of politics, not because we disagree, but because we want to live our lives being positive, grateful, and hopeful.

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Let's keep walking the high road together

11/2/2022

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We’ve celebrated the saints and now it is time for all the souls. The souls—people we know, strangers and, yes, we must include ourselves. So much suffering out there, but never let that smother the hope.
All the lying, meanness, and evil that has enveloped our country continues to be met with truth telling, kindness, and love. Souls, including me, are struggling to keep on the high road, to speak our truth with love, to help all people, not just those with whom we’d love to journey with. During these tough times, those of us who still hold onto hope, must speak out and act on the good things, the good possibilities.
My faith tells me to love my enemies. I’m working on that one. It sure is a challenge but I don’t want to give up, which is one reason I keep this blog going. So, thank you, you silent, solitary, and simple souls, for listening and walking the high road of hope with me.

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A visit to the cottage by the sea

10/26/2022

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My daughter and I traveled to Maine for a couple of nights away, just us girls. The first night we stay at a hotel right on the beach less than a quarter of a mile from the cottage by the sea that I rented during the winter months from 2009-14, and where I launched this blog.
I could hardly recognize the cottage; in fact, I didn’t even take a picture of it. It had been renovated, or shall I say gutted. I peaked in the window to discover that the walls separating the rooms (bedroom, dining room, den, kitchen, and what I called ‘the deck’) had been taken down to create one big room from front to back. This neither surprised or disappointed me, Now is now, then was then.
The view was still the best view in the neighborhood.

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